Dispenser



June 11, 1935. I E CONT] 2,004,520

DISPENSER Fi1ed July 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l l a T *i, 1 TuMiiim'iiF 11 l INVE TOR.) [aye/1e an/i.

BY 7' 7 ATTORNEYS.

June 11, 1935. co I 2,004,520

DISPENSER Filed July 13, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m 2/ 1mm! 2 55 I! 12 j I N VEN TOR.

[aye/7e C'onf/ A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 11, 1935 was 2,004,520 DISPENSER Eugene Conti, Mount Vernon, N. Y.,assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Herz Cup Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 13, 1933', Serial No. 680,171

2 Claims.

a stack, and has for an object the provision of improvements in this art. The dispenser which has been selectedto illustrate the principles of the invention and which is shown in the accompanying drawings is intended to be used for dispensing articles which are provided with flanges.

on the sides thereof, such as paper drinkingcups, so the present description will be directed principally to this embodiment of the invention, though it will be realized that the invention may have other embodiments.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification:

Fig. l is a side view in perspective of the dispenser;

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the major units of the dispenser separated from each other;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the dispenser proper;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view with the cover turned back to show the operating mechanism within;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the dispenser proper; and

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary detail showing a cup in position to be discharged.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a dispensing unit A is shown mounted on a support B. The support shown is adapted to rest on a table but it will be obvious that the support may be fastened to a wall or any other suitable anchorage, the means and method of supporting the dispenser forming no part of the present invention. As specifically illustrated, the connection for attaching the dispenser to the support comprises a dove-tailed key in engaging a dove-tailed bracket ll fastened to the support. The key may be formed integral with the housing i2 of the dispenser or may be attached thereto by screws 53 as shown in Fig. 6. A dome C for protecting the articles to be dispensed surmounts the dispenser housing I2. The dome is prefer-ably formed of glass in order that the articles within may be seen, and is provided with a metal base sleeve it which enters the cylindrical upper portion of the housing and rests on a shoulder [5 formed therein.

Arranged within the housing there are a plurality of dispenser elements It mounted upon headed studs ll screwed into the upper flange l8 ofthe housing. 7 The dispenser, elements are pro- 1 vided with pinions I9 which are operated by the intermeshingteeth 29 of a ring gear 2|. Part of the teeth of the pinions are cut away topermit the maximum travel of the ring gear whichis' correspondingly widened at ea'cli end of each row of teeth-2S to form a relatively wide fiatplate.

This plate-like ring gear has bearing upon sham ders 2i and 22 formed on the inside of the outer wall 23 of the housing andon the outside of the inner wall 2 S. 'rhenng gear a I is urged in an anti-clockwise direction (as viewed in" Fig. 4;) by

a coil spring 25 secured to the plate andto the housing. A screw 26 may be employed for secur-' ing one end of the spring to the plate and a screw-receiving lug 27 may serve for securing the other end of the spring to the housing. The lower surface of the plate ring gear is recessed to receive the spring and the housing-attached end of the spring is secured to the lug 2i in a plane below the bottom surface of this recess whereby the spring is caused to exert an upward pull on the ring gear to urge it against the shoulders 2i and 22.

An operating handle 28 is secured to the other side of the ring gear. It is shown as being attached by screws 29 but it may be formed integral with the ring gear if the housing is suitably divided to permit the assemblage of parts. As shown, the handle has a fiat portion which is carried in a slot 3% formed in the side wall 23 of the housing. This additionally serves to maintain the plate ring gear in operating alignment. v

The lower portion of the housing between the walls 23 and 24 is closed by a cover 3! which is formed with a barrel 32, which may be considered as an extension of the inner wall 25 of the housing, which is employed for guiding the articles past the dispensing elements. The upper surface of the cover 31 is provided with a-rcuate ribs 33 which further serve to retain and guide the plate ring gear. The cover is retained on the housing by screws (not shown) which take into the threaded ends of the lugs 27, to one of which, as explained, the end of the spring 25 is fastened. One of the lugs, that shown at the back of the housing, is considerably lengthened circumferentially and forms stops at either end for limiting the movement of the ring gear, the gear being suitably recessed exteriorly to receive the lugs 21. When drinking cups are dispensed they are most conveniently advanced in inverted position.

This finger may be inserted in a socket in the wide lug 2! and may be secured in adjusted positions by a set screw 35. The end of the finger which catches the cups is provided with a bulbous tip 37 of a softer material, such for example as bakelite or hard rubber, the tip having a recess which fits the finger. Glue may be used if desired to hold the tip on the finger.

The dispenser elements I6 are formed with a segmental flat upper surface I60, forming a support for the cup above the one being dispensed and for the stack thereabove, a segmentalflat lower surface I 6b and a downwardly inclined surof having some of the dispensing elements en-v gage the lower side of the cup rim while others engage the upper side as might happen if the stack should be unevenly supported.

The operation will undoubtedly be clear without further explanation. It is to be understood that the invention may have other embodiments within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A dispenser for a stack of articles, comprising in combination, a tubular guideway for the articles, a plurality of dispensing devices disposed circumferentially around said guideway, a platelike ring for operating said devices, an outer tubular wall retaining said ring, said wall and the exterior portionof said guideway being provided with ledges forming an upper bearing for said ring, a spring secured at one end to the lower surface of said ring and at the other end to a fixed support above the level of the lower surface of the ring whereby to urge the ring circumferentially and upward, and a cover plate for the space between said wall and said guideway, said plate including a tubular portion forming an extension for said guideway and a circumferential axially extending rib for assisting in retaining said ring.

2. A dispenser for a stack of articles, comprising in combination, a tubular guideway for the articles, a plurality of dispensing devices disposed circumferentially around said guideway, a platelike ring for'operating said devices, an outer tubular wall retaining said ring, said wall and the exterior portion of said guideway being provided with ledges forming an upper bearing forsaid.

and upward. V

EUGENE CONTI'. 

